Since January of 2016 I have found myself in a new season of life, one that is different than the last 23 years that I have worked in missions with YWAM. I have always worked under a YWAM operating location, in LA, Seattle, San Diego, and Kona (we have lived in some pretty sweet places). In 2016, we moved from Kona and the YWAM Ships location, to San Diego, to start a new chapter as Steps of Justice and YWAM.

The past 16 months have been filled with beauty, difficulty, loneliness, prosperity, doubt and joy. I am thinking out loud here, as that is the way I process best, but stick with me, I’m going somewhere. Let me break down the last 16 months in more detail (talking strictly about ministry, not family. Family is for another post). Below I will share how things have been, and use the word “I” to refer to me and “we” to refer to Steps of Justice and the YWAM ministry that I run.

There has been so much beauty that I have seen over the past 16 months. I have seen new ministries started, like our friends of Syria events and the Syrian drop in center that I have co-led on a weekly basis. I have met amazing people, who have believed in me, stood by me, inspired me and motivated me. We, as Steps of Justice, hosted our first urban team this past year, and we are seeing more trips to Cambodia than we have in a while.

These past 16 months have also been difficult. I feel alone in a lot of ways. I am trying to get things running, and ministries started, and that is happening, but I feel alone in it. I have spent years working in team, but these past 16 months has been working alone, and trying to build and find teams to work in.

This has been a year of prosperity. Not just financial, but also missional and ministry prosperity. We live in an expensive city, intentional because of the relationships we have here and the opportunity to work with the refugee community. We have seen our support grow since moving here, and have had other ways of making money that has really helped us save more and give more. There has also been prosperity in ministry, as we have seen our work with the refugee community grow, have been able to host teams in San Diego and Cambodia and have had open doors to work in a school made up of mainly refugees and immigrants. God has opened doors we didn’t even know existed.

I have had a lot of doubt these past 16 months. Not doubt in my faith, or in the work that I am doing, but doubt in the decision to move my family to San Diego, into a pioneering situation and out of the established ministry context that we were with in Kona. I have had doubt in the loneliness and in the difficult times. The doubt is peppered with the reality that God is blessing us, but it is a different season than I am used to.

In all of it, I have had tremendous joy. Ever since I was 10 I have wanted to work in missions. I have had a desire to show people who Jesus is, and His love for them. I have spent most of my missions career training others to be missionaries, but this season has been one where I have seen my mission dreams come true. I have dear friends who do not love the Lord. They are not my projects, they are not my newsletter material, they are my friends. I have relationships with people who are not followers of Jesus and those relationships run deep. I am as committed to these relationships as any relationship in my life.

I am not sure how much I will continue to write about this season, but I hope a lot, as it helps me process and learn. If your reading this, your prayers are appreciated.

Yesterday, millions of men, women, and children marched for human rights all across world. Marches began sprouting up in over 400 US cities, and 168 other countries, where there were nearly 700 marches worldwide, including 20 in Mexico and 29 in Canada. It is estimated more than 3 million people marched in the USA alone and countless more worldwide. (source)

My daughter Emma and I attended the march in San Diego, along with 30,000 others. Women, men and children marched for various reasons. They marched to share their thoughts and opinions on same sex marriage and pro choice issues, they marched in solidarity for the refugee, the immigrant and equal rights. The marched to protest some issues and policies and support others. I went to stand with those who feel unheard, unwanted, and uncertain of their future in the United States. I also marched because I believe Jesus would have marched, and indeed was.

I did not march in protest of anything, I marched to show love, support and compassion with those who feel none. I marched because I wanted my daughter to know that she could participate in a peaceful march like this, without hate or violence, and stand with those who hurt. We don’t have to share peoples convictions, beliefs or lifestyle, but it doesn’t mean that we, the church, shouldn’t be in the same spaces that these people are in, standing side by side with people who don’t look like us, act like us, talk like us or believe like us. In fact, those are the places we need to be.

The event was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. There were signs of hope, raised beside signs of hated and anger. There were people cheering and full of joy, standing beside others who were hopeless and tearing others down. There were things that I was proud for my daughter to see, and things that I wish she never had to see, or see again. There were people booing Trump for his policies, asking for a better America, and highlighting their conviction of pro choice over pro life. It was a beautiful mix of love and hate that Jesus was right in the middle of, and that my daughter and I were in the middle of as well.

I was reading a post this morning by Mike Frost, an author and teacher. He beautifully wrote about the marches, and his (and my) belief in pro life for the unborn. I was not there to change anyones mind in this, as there is plenty of tension on this issue in our world already, but I was there, as a follower of Jesus, and believer in pro life, to love and represent Jesus and His church.

I was sitting in a worship service today with my church community and was overcome with emotion at the brokenness of our world. It is filled with so much hate, oppression, and hurt. We the church need to stand with those who are hurting. It was after all the broken that Jesus hung out with. He never judged them, just loved them. He never responded in hate, always in love. He loved and ate with the woman in prostitution, had dinner at a tax collector’s house, and sat with the refugee’s and immigrants of his day. That is what I am trying to do, and what I am trying to lead my children to do.

The words of the song “Brother” by the Brilliance come to mind as I write this. I am not a pro choice, feminist, hater of Trump, I am a follower of Jesus, who is trying to live and love like Him.

When I look into the faceOf my enemyI see my brotherI see my brother

Forgiveness is the garment Of our courageThe power to make the peace We long to knowOpen up our eyesTo see the wounds that bindAll of humankindMay our shutter heartsGreet the dawn of lifeWith charity and love

Wow, welcome back. Its been a while, but I have mostly been posting over at Facebook and Instagram. Its not like there isn’t a lot to say, I have just enjoyed posting small updates with images that back what we are up to. It’s Christmas time, and lots has been going on, so I figured this would be the perfect venue to share.

On Wednesday, September 2, 2015, the world was, for the most part, unaware and unengaged with the refugee crises in Syria, or any refugee crisis happening in the world. This all changed when on September 2, 2015, three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s young body washed up on a beach in Turkey. Images of the boy wearing a red shirt, shorts and sneakers, lying face down in the sand were plastered all over Twitter, Facebook, and news media. Other images showed a rescue worker carrying the lifeless body of Kurdi across the sand. Kurdi and his family were crossing Turkey, hoping to reach Europe and then move on to Canada where his sister worked as a hairdresser. The boat that the family was on capsized, and Abdulla, the boy’s father, lost both of his children and his wife in the accident.

Within 24 hours the Twitter hashtag #kiyiyavuraninsanlik, which is a Turkish phrase meaning “humanity washed up ashore,” was used on Twitter 200,000 times. All of a sudden this lifeless little boy brought awareness to the world of the refugee crisis. From then on, there were daily reports, updates, images and stories of people fleeing their homes in boats to reach Greece and to be resettled across Europe.

In the months that followed Kurdi’s body washing up on shore, it was a regular occurrence to read about more boats capsizing, and loss of life as more people crossed more people crossing the Sea for freedom. As a result, campaigns started in the United States and other countries to respond to the crisis, either welcoming refugees or lobbying to keep them out.

Since that day, 15 months ago, I have been anxious to befriend and connect with the Syrian community. Over the past five months, since moving to San Diego, our family has been doing just that. There is so much to write, but since it’s Christmas, I will share what we were apart of last Saturday, December 17.

Steps of Justice, the non-profit help run, hosted a Christmas party for the Syrian refugees in our city. Over the past five months we have been hosting regular events for these new neighbors of ours, which led up to this Christmas party. There are over 1,400 Syrians in our city, so we were not sure how many were going to show up, but by the end of the evening we had over 150 Syrians there, some who have lived here for years, some who have only been here for weeks. We also had over 100 volunteers from the Muslim and Christian community.

During the five hour party we danced, ate lots of food, took countless pictures, played Kurdish music, and shared the story of Christmas and how Jesus came to earth to spread the peace of God. Many of my friends were there, seen in the picture above, and many new friendships were made. It was an honor to help put this event on. We worked with the Christian and Muslim community to serve our new neighbors, it was a beautiful thing to work together.

Our prayer is that these relationships would continue. I am blessed to spend five days a week working primarily in a neighborhood that hosts many of the Syrian families, so I get to see these families often. My prayer is that they would see the love of Jesus for them, and not just see Jesus as a western religion. Please keep us in your prayers and at any time, please feel fee to connect with us if you have thought, questions or just encouragement.

This past weekend was the Super Bowl in the USA. Along with all the fun, good, gatherings and excitement there is a dirty little secret, forced prostitution.

Statistics have it that up to 10,000 girls are brought into Super Bowl cities each year by pimps. These girls will be be used and taken advantage of by men. Regardless of those numbers being correct or not, or even if it’s only one girl being brought in, it is an injustice.

This past week a few of us met in San Fransisco to bring awareness of this issue. We went to over 40 hotels and gas stations sharing with desk clerks about forced child prostitution and gave out information on missing girls along with the human trafficking hot line. We heard some heartbreaking stories and brought this issue into the light with many who had no idea it was happening.

It’s easy to do justice. All it takes is you and I taking a stand against what is wrong and promoting what is right. Thanks to you who support us in the ministry here. We pray that you have a great week and anticipate the amazing things God had in store for you.

I am sitting in Norway where its cold, dark and far away from my usual American Thanksgiving, yet I am very thankful. There are many things that I could complain about, but that is easy and not very encouraging to anyone. Today on this American Thanksgiving lets commit to be thankful regardless of our circumstances. God knows our needs and he, our heavenly father and provider will meet them.

Here are a few things that have marked my life over the past year:

The great community we were a part of with YWAM Kona

My family who brought countless times of laughter and joy

Amy

Travel

The early mornings that I was able to sit, drink good coffee, read, pray and reflect

The respect the corners Cross fit box in Kona

Friends who asked me the hard questions

A health marriage

Seeing my children smile

Opportunities to teach, lead mission trips and facilitate times of learning

Coming to Norway to be apart of the Justice DTS

Breath

Health

Music

My iPhone 4S (old but keeps on going)

Refugees being received and welcomed

Freedom

Peace

Direction

Faith

The scholarship I received for pursuing my masters degree

Support

The thanksgiving meal I am going to eat on Saturday.

There are so many things to be thankful for. There are also many things to complain about (legitimate complaints for sure). Today though, lets live in a place of thanksgiving, hope and life.